gnovel Chapter 95 Military Sand Table
Chapter 95 Military Sand Table
When he finally stepped out from the last row of blades and his feet touched solid ground, he felt as if his spine had been removed. He swayed twice and was about to fall headfirst onto the blades.
An enormous hand firmly supported his shoulder.
Qin Qiong, as imposing as a mountain, stood before him, and a hint of warmth appeared in his once cold and ruthless eyes.
"What's your name?"
"...Zhang...Zhang San." The young man's voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed a handful of sand.
"very good."
Qin Qiong released his grip and patted his thin shoulder heavily: "You passed."
With the first success story, the rest of the group seemed to have found their backbone.
So it turns out that you can actually walk over this mountain of knives!
Although fear still exists, the desire called "ambition" ultimately prevails over it.
One by one, people began to reluctantly go inside.
Most of them came out pale-faced and soaked in sweat; some even knelt on the ground and vomited after they left.
But as long as he could complete the journey and didn't wet his pants in the sword formation, Qin Qiong would nod and accept the task.
He did not choose the fearless.
Humans are not plants or trees; how can they not be afraid when facing a blade?
What he wanted to see was who, under extreme fear, could squeeze out the last bit of courage to control their body!
After this brutal "crossing the mountain of knives" process, 70% of the originally large group of 12,000 people were eliminated!
In the end, fewer than three thousand people stood sparsely behind Qin Qiong.
They were all dressed in rags and looked exhausted, as if they had just recovered from a serious illness, but there was something else clearly in each of their eyes.
It is a kind of ruthlessness and ferocity that can only be obtained after being tempered by life and death.
Looking at the remaining three thousand men, Qin Qiong finally showed a hint of satisfaction on his usually stern face.
"Only those who can walk barefoot under the blade without flinching, and who won't wet their pants on the battlefield, deserve His Highness's reward!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it was resounding and echoed in everyone's ears.
"Congratulations, you've passed the test of courage."
Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, Qin Qiong suddenly turned around and pointed to the mountain of stone locks and a muddy swamp on the other side of the training ground.
"But don't get too excited. Being brave only guarantees you won't run away; to survive in a godforsaken place like Lingnan, you also need to be physically strong!"
"Next, the strength test!"
Qin Qiong casually picked up a huge stone lock, a massive object weighing two hundred pounds, but it felt as light as a feather in his hands.
"He lifted a 200-pound stone weight with one hand, keeping it above his knees without it touching the ground, and then walked across that 30-step stretch of muddy ground!"
"The Changning Breaking Army must not produce weaklings; only the true 'monsters' should be kept!"
……
When the fierce soldiers who had endured the torment of "crossing mountains of knives and lifting stone locks" on Qin Qiong's side arrived at Li Jing's side, they originally thought that they would have to do some hard labor again. However, when they moved to Li Jing's side, they were all dumbfounded.
There were no swords, spears, or halberds, no stone locks or drums.
On the wooden table, instead of the Four Treasures of the Study, a collection of strange and unusual sights was laid out.
Yellow sand piles up into peaks, mud sculptures meander into ridges, sawdust tinged with green is a dense forest, and fragmented mica flakes are a shimmering river.
Yang Yan stood not far away, a smile playing on his lips—this was a "landscape model" that he had created by guiding the craftsmen through three sleepless nights, based on his memories from the future, and after repeated revisions.
But to the ancients, this thing was like bringing a landscape shrunk countless times to a table!
The moment this thing was unveiled, it left the fierce soldiers, who had just passed the physical fitness test and were eager to get started, speechless.
They gathered around in a daze, craning their necks as if watching some strange spectacle conjured up by Taoist magic.
"This...this is like bringing mountains and rivers onto the table?" someone murmured, instinctively reaching out to touch the "mountain peak," but then, afraid of damaging this precious object, their hand froze in mid-air.
Even Li Jing, who was sitting upright behind his desk, stiffened almost imperceptibly when he first saw this object.
His eyes, usually so adept at gazing at maps and seeing the world from afar, suddenly narrowed, his sharp gaze sweeping rapidly over every detail on the sand table—passes, rivers, dense forests, and paths.
Almost instantly, a realization mixed with shock struck him. This was more than just a map; it was a vivid depiction of the battlefield situation, the advantages and disadvantages of offense and defense, laid out on a small screen.
The undulating mountains and rivers, the winding roads, the positions of the enemy and ourselves... all these scenarios can be rehearsed on this board.
Its value for candidate selection and pre-war planning is immeasurable.
Li Jing sat upright behind the desk, dressed in a blue robe, looking out of place on the training ground filled with sweat and dust.
His back was straight as a pine tree, his face was thin and refined, and his expression was one of almost indifferent calm. His fingers rested lightly on the edge of the table, neither like Qin Qiong poised to pounce like a tiger, nor like the obsequious clerks of ordinary military governors.
It's like the Imperial Censor who holds the power of law and decides life and death in the imperial court, only now the court has been moved to this military camp.
His attire and demeanor left the fierce soldiers, who had just undergone rigorous physical training and were still feeling the heat of battle, looking at each other with suspicion: Is this... really the officer who came to select the vanguard elite?
"This Chief Clerk Li... what's his background? He doesn't look like someone who's trained in martial arts."
"I heard that His Highness personally invited this expert, and even General Qin treated him with great respect."
"A master? This is the exam?" Many people pointed at the sand table and whispered among themselves.
"Silence! Watch closely. His Highness has made such a grand show of force; this challenge is definitely not simple."
"My name is Zhao Tiezhu. I just received a top-tier rating from Qin Shangguan." A squad leader with a muscular face and bulging muscles wiped the sweat from his face and stepped forward with a mix of hesitation and nonchalance.
At this moment, he was at the height of his power and brimming with confidence, looking at everything with disdain.
In this martial era, weak scholars have never had much status in the military.
Zhao Tiezhu glanced at the scholarly Li Jing, then at the strange sand table, snorted, and muttered to himself: Is His Highness Prince Changning joking around? Using a schoolteacher to select people?
Li Jing didn't even lift his eyelids. His eyes, which seemed to see through the world, didn't look at Zhao Tiezhu's exaggerated muscles, but instead fell on the miniature mountains and ridges.
His long, strong fingers tapped lightly on the table, producing a crisp "tap" sound.
"My assessment was very simple."
Li Jing's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly pierced through the surrounding noise.
"If you answer well, you will not only be able to join the Changning Breaking Formation Army, but I can also recommend you to His Highness as a fire chief, a commander, or even a captain."
Upon hearing the word "Captain," Zhao Tiezhu's eyes lit up like lanterns.
He immediately pounded his chest, his muscles jiggling with the movement: "What's the problem! I served as a soldier for five years, went to Liaodong, and even beheaded a Goguryeo man! There's nothing I don't know about military affairs! Ask away, sir!"
Li Jing nodded slightly, offering no comment on his boastful words.
He extended a finger and lightly touched a model of a steep cliff on the sand table, then traced a winding arc with his finger, stopping beside a deep ravine.
"The questions are very simple."
"Imagine you are the leader of a scout team of thirty men, with only three days' worth of rations. You are currently at this 'Soul-Severing Cliff'."
Li Jing paused, his voice still calm, yet carrying a chilling intent: "At this moment, you receive orders that your unit must, within two days, infiltrate to 'Falling Eagle Gorge,' thirty li away, to cut off the enemy's supply lines. However, this thirty-li mountain road is, as shown on this sand table, densely forested and deeply ravine-filled. Moreover, intelligence along the way indicates that small groups of barbarian soldiers may have already occupied high ground and are setting up ambushes."
Li Jing raised his head, his eyes meeting Zhao Tiezhu's for the first time, his gaze sharp as a knife: "How do we go? How do we fight?"